Method and apparatus for random access of voice mail messages

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for allowing a telephone service subscriber to receive an email notification, e.g., a SMS notification, at an endpoint device that a new voice mail message has been received. The SMS notification comprises a voice mailbox access phone number, selected from a pool of unassigned access phone numbers, which can be used to provide direct access to the new voice mail message in the telephone service subscriber&#39;s voice mailbox. Thus, a different voice mailbox access phone number is sent in each SMS notification to the telephone service subscriber for each new voice mail message, thereby providing direct access to specific voice mail messages via different voice mailbox access phone numbers.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/312,204, filed Dec. 20, 2005, currently allowed, which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present invention relates generally to communication networks and,more particularly, to a method and apparatus for random access of voicemail messages through email notifications, e.g., cellular Short MessageService (SMS) notifications, in communication networks, e.g., telephonynetworks such as Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) voice, Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) packet voice, and cellular voice networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When a telephone service subscriber receives a notification of a voicemail message via a Short Message Service (SMS) notification, thesubscriber must call a voice mailbox access number and then sift throughother unheard voice messages to access a particular voice message ofinterest. Thus, while the notification is convenient as is commonly donetoday, the access problem to access directly and listen to a particularvoice mail message of interest still remains.

Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for random access ofvoice mail messages through cellular Short Message Service (SMS)notifications in telephony networks such as Public Switched TelephoneNetwork (PSTN) voice, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) packet voice,and cellular voice networks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the present invention enables a telephone servicesubscriber to receive an email notification, e.g., a SMS notification,at an endpoint device, such as a cellular phone, when a new voice mailmessage is received. For example, the SMS notification comprises a voicemailbox access phone number, e.g., selected from a large pool of suchaccess phone numbers, which can be used to provide direct access to thenew voice mail message in the telephone service subscriber's voicemailbox. Thus, a different voice mailbox access phone number is sent ineach SMS notification to the telephone service subscriber for each newvoice mail message and thus provides a means to provide random directaccess to specific voice mail messages via different voice mailboxaccess phone numbers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teaching of the present invention can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of random access of voice mail messagesthrough cellular SMS notifications in a communication network of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method for sending a SMSnotification to a cellular endpoint device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method for accessing voice mailmessages from a cellular endpoint device using specific voice mailboxaccess phone numbers provided in a SMS notification of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method for directly retrieving aspecific voice mail message stored in a voice mailbox of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a high level block diagram of a general purposecomputer suitable for use in performing the functions described herein.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

When a telephone service subscriber receives a notification of a voicemail message via an email notification, e.g., a Short Message Service(SMS) notification, the subscriber must call a voice mailbox accessnumber and then sift through other unheard voice messages to access aparticular voice message of interest. Thus, while the notification isconvenient as is commonly done today, the access problem to accessdirectly and listen to a particular voice mail message of interest stillremains.

To address this criticality, the present invention enables a telephoneservice subscriber to receive an email notification, e.g., a SMSnotification, at a cellular endpoint device, such as a cellular phone,when a new voice mail message is received. The SMS notificationcomprises a voice mailbox access phone number, e.g., selected from alarge pool of such access phone numbers, which can be used to providedirect access to the new voice mail message in the telephone servicesubscriber's voice mailbox. Thus, a different voice mailbox access phonenumber is sent in each SMS notification to the telephone servicesubscriber for each new voice mail message and thus provides a means toprovide random direct access to specific voice mail messages viadifferent voice mailbox access phone numbers.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of random access of voice mail messagesthrough email notifications, e.g., cellular SMS notifications, in acommunication network 100 of the present invention. A communicationnetwork includes, but is not limited to, telephony networks such asPublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), an IP network, e.g., a Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) network, and a cellular voice network. InFIG. 1, calling party 131 makes a call to a called party who is asubscriber of telephony services of voice network 110. Calling party 131cannot reach the called party and leaves a voice mail message in thevoice mailbox of the called party using flow 151. The voice mail messageis recorded and stored by voice mailbox server 115 residing incommunication network 110. In addition, the called party subscriber ofcommunication network 110 has registered with communication network 110that whenever a new voice mail message is received, the network willsend a SMS notification to a registered cellular phone, e.g., cellularphone 121 in this instance, to inform the called party of the receipt ofthe new voice mail message.

Voice mailbox server 115, upon receiving the new voice mail message fromcalling party 131, sends a SMS notification to cellular phone 121 usingflow 153. The SMS notification may include the caller identification(ID) information of calling party 131 and a voice mailbox access phonenumber, e.g. access phone number A, which is not currently assigned andassociated with any previous voice mail messages for the called partysubscriber. At this point, voice mailbox server 115 associates the voicemail message left by calling party 131 with access phone number A andthe called party subscriber. The caller ID information includes, but isnot limited to, the name and the phone number of calling party 131.Access phone number A is a voice mailbox access phone number which isnot currently assigned and associated with any previous voice mailmessages for the called party subscriber and can be used to directlyaccess voice mail message left by calling party 131 by bypassing allother voice mail messages stored in the voice mailbox.

In one embodiment, the called party using cellular phone 121 can firstread the received SMS notification and then use the send or call buttonon the cellular phone to access the voice mail message left by callingparty 131. In particular, the cellular phone extracts the voice mailboxaccess phone number, e.g., access phone number A in this case, and dialsaccess phone number A to access voice mailbox server 115 using flow 155.Upon receiving a call from cellular phone 121 through access phonenumber A, voice mailbox server 115 uses the incoming phone number ofcellular phone 121 and the voice mailbox access phone number A throughwhich the call is received to determine that the caller is calling toaccess the voice mail message left by calling party 131. In oneembodiment, voice mailbox server 115 prompts the caller for a PersonalIdentification Number (PIN) if required to authenticate direct access tothe voice mail message left by calling party 131. Once the direct accessis authenticated, voice mailbox server plays the stored voice mailmessage left by calling party 131 to the called party subscriber.

Subsequently, calling party 132 makes a call to the same called partywho is a subscriber of telephony services of communication network 110.Calling party 132 cannot reach the called party and leaves a voice mailmessage in the voice mailbox of the called party using flow 152. Thevoice mail message is recorded and stored by voice mailbox server 115residing in communication network 110. Since the called party subscriberof communication network 110 has registered with communication network110 that whenever a new voice mail message is received, the network willsend a SMS notification to a registered cellular phone, e.g., a cellularphone 121 in this instance, to inform the called party of the receipt ofthe new voice mail message. It should be noted that although endpoint121 is illustrated as a mobile endpoint device, e.g., a cellular phone,it can also be a wired endpoint device, e.g., an IP phone and the like.

Voice mailbox server 115, upon receiving the new voice mail message,sends a SMS notification to cellular phone 121 using flow 154. The SMSnotification includes the caller identification (ID) information ofcalling party 132 and a voice mailbox access phone number, e.g. accessphone number B, which is not currently assigned and associated with anyprevious voice mail messages for the called party subscriber. At thispoint, voice mailbox server 115 associates the voice mail message leftby calling party 132 with access phone number B and the called partysubscriber. The caller ID information includes, but is not limited to,the name and the phone number of calling party 132. Access phone numberB is a voice mailbox access phone number, different from access phonenumber A, which is not currently assigned and associated with anyprevious voice mail messages for the called party subscriber and can beused to directly access voice mail message left by calling party 132 bybypassing all other voice mail messages stored in the voice mailbox.Voice mailbox server 115 has access to a large pool of such unassignedaccess phone numbers, e.g., listed in a database stored within the voicemailbox server.

In one embodiment, the called party using cellular phone 121 can firstread the received SMS notification and then use the send or call buttonon the cellular phone to access the voice mail message left by callingparty 132. In particular, the cellular phone extracts the voice mailboxaccess phone number, access phone number B in this case, and dialsaccess phone number B to access voice mailbox server 115 using flow 155.Upon receiving a call from cellular phone 121 through access phonenumber B, voice mailbox server 115 uses the incoming phone number ofcellular phone 121 and the voice mailbox access phone number B throughwhich the call is received to determine that the caller is calling toaccess the voice mail message left by calling party 132. In oneembodiment, voice mailbox server 115 prompts the caller for a PersonalIdentification Number (PIN), if required, to authenticate direct accessto the voice mail message left by calling party 132. Once the directaccess is authenticated, voice mailbox server plays the stored voicemail message left by calling party 132 to the called party subscriber.

The association of voice mail messages and voice mailbox access phonenumber remains until a voice mail message is deleted from the voicemailbox. When a voice mail message is deleted, the voice mailbox accessphone number associated with the deleted voice mail message will bereturned to the pool of unassigned voice mailbox access phone numbersthat can be associated with subsequent new incoming voice mail messages.The number of voice mailbox access phone number is a configurableparameter set by the network provider. In one embodiment, the number ofvoice mailbox access phone number is engineered to be equal to themaximum number of voice mail messages that can be stored in the voicemailbox of a subscriber. The maximum number of voice mail messages thatcan be stored in the voice mailbox of a subscriber is also aconfigurable parameter set by the network provider.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method 200 for sending an emailnotification, e.g., a SMS notification, to a cellular endpoint device ofthe present invention. The method is executed by a voice mailbox server.Method 200 starts in step 205 and proceeds to step 210.

In step 210, the method receives a call at a voice mailbox of a servicesubscriber from a calling party. For example, the called party is notavailable or is unreachable.

In step 220, the method records a voice mail message from the callingparty.

In step 230, the method stores the recorded voice mail message in thenetwork. For example, the voice mail message is stored by a voicemailbox server.

In step 240, the method associates the stored voice mail message with avoice mailbox access phone number that is not currently associated withany existing stored voice mail messages for the service subscriber.Namely, a large pool of unassigned access phone numbers is madeavailable to the voice mailbox server.

In step 250, the method sends a SMS notification to a registeredcellular endpoint device of the service subscriber. In one embodiment,the SMS notification includes the caller ID information, such as thecaller's name and phone number, and a voice mailbox access phone numberthat is not currently associated with any existing stored voice mailmessages for the service subscriber. The method ends in step 260.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method 300 for accessing voice mailmessages from a cellular endpoint device using specific voice mailboxaccess phone numbers provided in an email notification, e.g., a SMSnotification, of the present invention. For example, the method isexecuted by a cellular endpoint device that is registered with thecommunication network for providing voice mail services to a subscriber.Method 300 starts in step 305 and proceeds to step 310.

In step 310, the method receives a SMS notification regarding thearrival of a new voice mail message in the voice mailbox of the servicesubscriber. In one embodiment, the SMS notification includes the callerID information, such as the caller's name and phone number, and a voicemailbox access phone number that is not currently associated with anyexisting stored voice mail messages for the service subscriber.

In step 320, the method extracts the voice mailbox access phone numberembedded in the SMS notification.

In step 330, the method, upon receiving an instruction from the servicesubscriber such as by pressing the send or call button on the cellularphone, dials the extracted voice mailbox access phone number to directlyaccess the new voice mail message indicated by the SMS notification.

In step 340, the method provides a PIN to authenticate access to thevoice mailbox of the service subscriber. For example, the PIN is enteredby the service subscriber when prompted.

In step 350, the method gains direct access to the voice mail messageassociated with the extracted voice mailbox access phone number bybypassing other stored voice mail messages stored in the voice mailbox.The method ends in step 360.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method 400 for directly retrieving aspecific voice mail message stored in a voice mailbox of the presentinvention. For example, the method is executed by a voice mailboxserver. Method 400 starts in step 405 and proceeds to step 410.

In step 410, the method receives a call at a voice mailbox via aparticular voice mailbox access phone number.

In step 420, the method uses the caller ID of the calling cellularendpoint device and the particular voice mailbox access phone numberthrough which the call is received to identify the service subscribermailbox and the particular voice mail message to be retrieved.

In step 430, the method prompts the calling party for a PIN toauthenticate access to the service subscriber's voice mailbox, ifrequired.

In step 440, the method, after proper authentication if required,retrieves the particular voice mail message associated with the servicesubscriber and the particular voice mailbox access phone number.

In step 450, the method retrieves the voice mail message associated withthe calling cellular endpoint device and the particular voice mailboxaccess phone number and plays it through the calling cellular endpointdevice to the calling party. The method ends in step 460.

FIG. 5 depicts a high level block diagram of a general purpose computersuitable for use in performing the functions described herein. Asdepicted in FIG. 5, the system 500 comprises a processor element 502(e.g., a CPU), a memory 504, e.g., random access memory (RAM) and/orread only memory (ROM), a module 505 for providing random access ofvoice mail messages through email notifications, and variousinput/output devices 506 (e.g., storage devices, including but notlimited to, a tape drive, a floppy drive, a hard disk drive or a compactdisk drive, a receiver, a transmitter, a speaker, a display, a speechsynthesizer, an output port, and a user input device (such as akeyboard, a keypad, a mouse, and the like)).

It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented insoftware and/or in a combination of software and hardware, e.g., usingapplication specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a general purposecomputer or any other hardware equivalents. In one embodiment, thepresent module or process 505 for providing random access of voice mailmessages through email notifications can be loaded into memory 504 andexecuted by processor 502 to implement the functions as discussed above.As such, the present process 505 for providing random access of voicemail messages through email notifications (including associated datastructures) of the present invention can be stored on a computerreadable medium or carrier, e.g., RAM memory, magnetic or optical driveor diskette and the like.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment shouldnot be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, butshould be defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing an access of a voice mailmessage in a communication network, comprising: receiving, by a computercomprising a processor, the voice mail message at a voice mailbox for asubscriber from a calling party; recording, by the computer, the voicemail message from the calling party into the voice mailbox of thesubscriber; associating, by the computer, the voice mail message with avoice mailbox access phone number, where the voice mailbox access phonenumber is selected from a pool of unassigned voice mailbox access phonenumbers; and sending, by the computer, a message notification to anendpoint device of the subscriber, the message notification containingthe voice mailbox access phone number, where the voice mailbox accessphone number is for accessing the voice mail message such that the voicemail message is directly accessible when the voice mail box access phonenumber is dialed.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicationnetwork comprises a cellular voice network.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein an association resulting from the associating is revoked whenthe voice mail message is deleted from the voice mailbox of thesubscriber.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein a total number of the poolof unassigned voice mailbox access phone numbers is a configurableparameter set by a service provider of the communication network.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the endpoint is a mobile endpoint device. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the sending comprises: embedding thevoice mailbox access phone number and a calling party calleridentification information in the message notification.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the caller identification information comprises a phonenumber of the calling party.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a call from the endpoint device via the voicemailbox access phone number to access the voice mail message; using acaller identification of the endpoint device and the voice mailboxaccess phone number to identify the voice mail message; and retrievingdirectly the voice mail message by bypassing any other voice mailmessages stored in the voice mailbox.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe voice mail message is provided to the endpoint device after apersonal identification number is received and authenticated.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the message notification is sent by theprocessor of a voice mailbox server deployed in the communicationnetwork.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the message notification isa short message service notification.
 12. A tangible computer-readablemedium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor of acomputer, cause the computer to perform operations for providing arandom access of a voice mail message in a communication network, theoperations comprising: receiving the voice mail message at a voicemailbox for a subscriber from a calling party; recording the voice mailmessage from the calling party into the voice mailbox of the subscriber;associating the voice mail message with a voice mailbox access phonenumber, where the voice mailbox access phone number is selected from apool of unassigned voice mailbox access phone numbers; and sending amessage notification to an endpoint device of the subscriber, themessage notification containing the voice mailbox access phone number,where the voice mailbox access phone number is for accessing the voicemail message such that the voice mail message is directly accessiblewhen the voice mail box access phone number is dialed.
 13. The tangiblecomputer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the communication networkcomprises a cellular voice network.
 14. The tangible computer-readablemedium of claim 12, wherein the association is revoked when the storedvoice mail message is deleted from the voice mailbox of the subscriber.15. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein thesending comprises: embedding the voice mailbox access phone number and acalling party caller identification information in the messagenotification.
 16. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the caller identification information comprises a phone numberof the calling party.
 17. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim12, further comprising: receiving a call from the endpoint device viathe voice mailbox access phone number to access the voice mail message;using a caller identification of the endpoint device and the voicemailbox access phone number to identify the voice mail message; andretrieving directly the voice mail message by bypassing any other voicemail messages stored in the voice mailbox.
 18. An apparatus forproviding a random access of a voice mail message in a communicationnetwork, comprising: a server comprising a processor and acomputer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium storinginstructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the server toperform operations, the operations comprising: receiving the voice mailmessage at a voice mailbox for a subscriber from a calling party;recording the voice mail message from the calling party into the voicemailbox of the subscriber; associating the voice mail message with avoice mailbox access phone number, where the voice mailbox access phonenumber is selected from a pool of unassigned voice mailbox access phonenumbers; and sending a message notification to an endpoint device of thesubscriber, the message notification containing the voice mailbox accessphone number, where the voice mailbox access phone number is foraccessing the voice mail message such that the voice mail message isdirectly accessible when the voice mail box access phone number isdialed.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein an association resultingfrom the associating is revoked when the voice mail message is deletedfrom the voice mailbox of the subscriber.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18,wherein a total number of the pool of unassigned voice mailbox accessphone numbers is a configurable parameter set by a service provider ofthe communication network.